Well, it is that time again for those of us who are passionate about—maybe you could even say obsessed with—the Olympics. For two whole weeks, we get to live vicariously through Olympic athletes in a multitude of sports to experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
I am more of a sports doer than a sports viewer and rarely watch sporting event competitions. But the Olympics are different. For those two weeks, I engage in watching television coverage and internet replays with almost fanatical zeal. I think about the events I watched the day before as I go through my routine daily exercise with perhaps just a little more vigor.
As I describe in my memoir RISK, for six years during the early 80's, I lived and breathed the world of whitewater slalom paddling. While plodding my way through college, I devoted the rest of my constrained time, money, and energy to training and competing at the world-class level. I successfully competed for a spot on the US Whitewater Slalom Canoe and Kayak Team for four years. Although my competitive accomplishments were relatively modest, I was proud of the paddling skills I obtained through two-a-day workouts, six days a week, for almost six months of the year. During that time in my life, I enjoyed nothing more than training on slalom gates.
On some level, I know the experiences of many Olympic athletes. I know what it is like to put everything you are capable of into your sport, mostly far from any spotlight. I know what it is like to put in that effort, even though the motivation often had little to do with the potential to win an Olympic medal. I know what it is like to be motivated by the love of the sport and the environment and community surrounding it, to be motivated by the desire to experience a sport in its most exquisite form.
Stuart McMillan, a professional coach who has personally coached over 70 Olympians at seven Olympic Games, over 30 of whom have won Olympic medals, has said it best.
"The performance of an athlete, in its most exquisite form, is a dynamic interplay of power and grace. A spectacle that mesmerizes us as it seamlessly blends fluidity with ferocity, combines violence with peace, and merges aggression with elegance. It's an art form where strength and subtlety coexist, creating a harmonious symphony of human potential. (Steve McMillan, Altis CEO, 2023)
Elite-level whitewater canoe and kayak slalom is a perfect example of the paradox of power and grace in sport. It involves an elaborate dance between the athlete and the swirling tumult of a whitewater rapid.
Although much has changed since my self-funded days of dirtbag kayak racing, in many ways, the 1980s represented the peak of slalom kayaking in the USA in terms of the number of athletes and the international medal-winning strength of the USA canoe and kayak squad.
Soon after slalom kayaking became a permanent fixture in the Olympics in 1992, the number of athletes participating in whitewater slalom in the USA began slowly and inexorably diminishing. There are a number of reasons for this decline, including a dearth of entry-level youth programs at the club level, the attractiveness of other forms of whitewater kayak competition to young athletes, and the relatively low level of funding to support the sport compared to other countries.
However, on an international scale, new boat designs and innovative changes in technique have only increased the beauty and grace of whitewater slalom. If you watch coverage of the sport in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, I am quite certain it will blow your socks off.
In addition to the two athletes representing the USA at this year's Olympics, Evy Liebfarth and Casey Eichfeld, I encourage you to watch for Jessica Fox of Australia.
Jessica Fox - the GOAT of white canoe and kayak slalom competition
Jessica Fox is the most accomplished athlete in the history of whitewater kayak and canoe slalom, having won four Olympic medals, ten World Championships, and fifty World Cup medals to date. Because of these accomplishments, she will undoubtedly receive a lot of attention at the Olympics. It also doesn't hurt that she looks like a model and is undeniably cool and well-spoken.
Her looks and her talent come straight from her parents, who competed during my era. I consider her father, Richard Fox, a ten-time world champion from Great Britain, one of the founders of the graceful paddling style you see today. Richard was a master at placing each stroke precisely and powerfully to move the boat efficiently through swift and swirling currents with minimal wasted energy. Watching Richard Fox paddle was mesmerizing. He embodied the magical dance of whitewater slalom at a level I had not seen before, and his paddling technique changed how athletes approached the sport worldwide.
Richard Fox married a top slalom paddler from France named Myriam Jerusalmi, an eight-time World Champion and bronze medalist in the 1996 Olympics. Paris will be their daughter Jessica's fourth Olympic experience, and this year, she will also be joined by her younger sister Naomi, who will compete at her first Olympics in the new boater-cross kayaking event.
Now, it is time for me to stop writing and guide you to watch Jessica Fox win her 50th World Cup medal a few weeks ago in Krakow, Poland. Enjoy the dance, and watch for her and our USA athletes, Evy and Casey, from July 27th through August 5th at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Prepare to be dazzled by the paradox of power and grace that is whitewater slalom.
I really love that quote about athletes!!!